Online Etymology Dictionary

wagon: 1523, from M.Du. wagen, waghen, from P.Gmc. *wagnaz (cf. O.E. wægn, Mod.Eng. wain, O.S., O.H.G. wagan, O.N. vagn, O.Fris. wein, Ger. Wagen), from PIE *woghnos, from *wegh- "to carry, to move" (cf. Skt. vahanam "vessel, ship," Gk. okhos, L. vehiculum, O.C.S. vozu "carriage, chariot," Rus. povozka, Lith. vazis "a small sledge," O.Ir. fen, Welsh gwain "carriage, cart;" see weigh). In Du. and Ger., the general word for "a wheel vehicle;" Eng. use is a result of contact through Flemish immigration, Dutch trade, or the Continental wars. It has largely displaced the native cognate, wain. Spelling preference varied randomly between -g- and -gg- from mid-18c., before Amer.Eng. settled on the etymological wagon, while waggon remained common in Great Britain. Wagon train is attested from 1810. Phrase on the wagon "abstaining from alcohol" is 1904, originally on the water cart.
wain: O.E. wægn "wheeled vehicle," from P.Gmc. *wagnaz (see wagon). Largely fallen from use by c.1600, but kept alive by poets, who found it easier to rhyme on than wagon. Wainwright "wagon-builder" is O.E. wægn-wyrhta.
bandwagon: 1855, Amer.Eng., from band (2) + wagon, originally a large wagon used to carry the band in a circus procession; as these also figured in celebrations of successful political campaigns, being on the bandwagon came to represent "attaching oneself to anything that looks likely to succeed," a usage first attested 1899 in writings of Theodore Roosevelt.
Conestoga: 1699, name of an Indian tribe in southcentral Pennsylvania, probably from some Iroquoian language and sometimes said to mean "people of the cabin pole;" later a place in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where a characteristic type of covered wagon was built. Conestoga wagon is from 1750 (about three years before the last of the Conestoga Indians were massacred), but it was already an established term as the first reference is to the name of a Philadelphia tavern. Also a breed of horses (1824) and a type of boot and cigar (see stogie).
wainscot: 1352, "imported oak of superior quality," probably from M.Du. or M.Flem. waghenscote "superior quality oak wood, board used for paneling" (though neither of these is attested as early as the Eng. word), related to M.L.G. wagenschot (1389), from waghen (see wagon) + scote "partition, crossbar." So called perhaps because the wood originally was used for wagon building and coachwork. Meaning "panels lining the walls of rooms" is recorded from 1548. Wainscoting is from 1580.
dearborn: "light four-wheeled wagon," 1841, Amer.Eng., from the inventor's name.
vehicle: 1612, "a medium through which a drug or medicine is administered," 1615 in the sense of "any means of conveying or transmitting," from Fr. véhicule, from L. vehiculum "means of transport, a vehicle," from vehere "to carry," from PIE *wegh- "to go, transport in a vehicle" (cf. O.E. wegan "to carry;" O.N. vegr, O.H.G. weg "way;" M.Du. wagen "wagon;" see wagon). Sense of "cart or other conveyance" first recorded 1656.
van (2): "covered truck or wagon," 1829, shortening of caravan.
charge: early 13c., from O.Fr. chargier "load, burden," from L.L. carricare "to load a wagon, cart," from L. carrus "wagon" (see car). Meaning "responsibility, burden" is mid-14c. (cf. take charge, late 14c.; in charge, 1510s), which progressed to "pecuniary burden, cost" (mid-15c.), and then to "price demanded for service or goods" (1510s). Legal sense of "accusation" is late 15c.; earlier "injunction, order" (late 14c.). Sense of "rush in to attack" is 1560s, perhaps through earlier meaning of "load a weapon" (1540s). Electrical sense is from 1767. Slang meaning "thrill, kick" (Amer.Eng.) is from 1951. Chargé d'affairs was borrowed from French, 1767.
lorry: "A truck, a long, flat wagon," 1838, British railroad word, probably from verb lurry "to pull, tug," of uncertain origin. Meaning "large motor vehicle for carrying goods" is first attested 1911.
drag: mid-15c., from O.N. draga, or a dialect variant of O.E. dragan "to draw," from P.Gmc. *dragan "to draw, pull," from PIE base *dhragh- "to draw, drag on the ground" (cf. Skt. dhrajati "pulls, slides in," Rus. drogi "wagon," and related to L. trahere; see tract (1)). Related: Dragged; dragging. Meaning "to take a puff" (of a cigarette, etc.) is from 1914. Sense of "annoying, boring person or thing" is 1813; sense of "women's clothing worn by a man" is said to be 1870 theater slang, from the sensation of long skirts trailing on the floor (another guess is Yiddish trogn "to wear," from Ger. tragen); drag queen is from 1941. Drag-out "violent fight" is from c.1859. Drag racing (1954) is from slang sense of "wagon, buggy" (1755), because a horse would drag it. By 1851 this was transferred to "street," as in the phrase main drag, and it was adopted by hot rodders for "race on city streets." To drag (one's) feet (1946, in figurative sense) is supposedly from logging, from a lazy way to use a two-man saw.
limber (n.): "detachable forepart of a gun carriage," 1480, probably related to Fr. limonière "wagon with two shafts," from limon "shaft," probably of Celtic origin.
chuck (n.): 1674, probably a variant of chock. Originally used of wood or meat. Hence, chuck wagon, 1880.
buckboard: 1839, "plank on wheels," from board (n.) + buck "body of a cart or wagon" (1690s), perhaps a dial. survival of O.E. buc "belly, body, trunk." As a type of vehicle constructed this way, from 1874.
shebang: 1862, "hut, shed, shelter," perhaps an alteration of shebeen (q.v.). Phrase the whole shebang first recorded 1869, but relation to the earlier use of the word is obscure. Either or both senses may also be mangled pronunciations of Fr. char-à-banc, a bus-like wagon with many seats.
VW: 1958, short for Volkswagen, which is Ger. for "people's car" (see folk + see wagon).
charette: c.1400, from O.Fr. charrette "wagon, cart" (12c.), dim. of charre (see car).
charabanc: British for "sightseeing bus," early 19c., from Fr. char-à-bancs, lit. "benched carriage," from char "wagon," from L. carrus (see car).
waggle: 1440, frequentative of wag (v.). Cf. Du. waggelen "to waggle," O.H.G. wagon "to move, shake," Ger. wackeln "to totter."
Charles's Wain: O.E. Carles wægn, associated with Charlemagne, originally with the nearby bright star Arcturus (see also Arctic), which is linked by folk etymology to L. Arturus "Arthur." The crux of this is the legendary association of Arthur and Charlemagne. More recent names for it are the Plough (1590s) and the Big Dipper (19c.). Known as a bear across a wide range of cultures. Some old stories specify that the "bowl" of the dipper is the bear, while the three stars of the "handle" are either hunters or its cubs. To the ancients, it was both a bear (Gk. arktos) and a wagon (Gk. amaxa, L. plaustrum "two-wheeled cart"). Among the Teutonic peoples, however, there does not seem to have been a tradition to see this group as a bear, only a wagon. A 10c. Anglo-Saxon astronomy manual uses the Greek-derived Aretos, but mentions that the "unlearned" call it "Charles's Wain":
Arheton hatte an tungol on norð dæle, se haefð seofon steorran, & is for ði oþrum naman ge-hatan septemtrio, þone hatað læwede meon carles-wæn." ["Anglo-Saxon Manual of Astronomy"]
The unlearned of today are corrected that the seven stars are not the Great Bear, but only a part of that large constellation. But those who applied the name "Great Bear" apparently did so originally only to these seven stars, and from Homer's time down to Thales, "the Bear" meant just the seven stars. From Rome to Anglo-Saxon England to Arabia to India, ancient astronomy texts mention a supposed duplicate constellation to the northern bear in the Southern Hemisphere, never visible from the north. This perhaps is based on sailors' tales of the Southern Cross.
tailgate (n.): 1868, back panel on a wagon, hinged to swing down and open, from tail + gate. Extended by 1950 to hatchback door on an automobile. The verb meaning "to drive too close behind another vehicle" is from 1951; tailgate party "party or picnic at the open tail-gate of a parked car" is attested from 1970.
Paddy (2): "Irishman," 1780, slang, from the pet form of the common Irish proper name Patrick (Ir. Padraig). It was in use in black slang by 1946 for any "white person." Paddy wagon is 1930, perhaps so called because many police officers were Irish. Paddywhack (1881) originally meant "an Irishman."
caisson: 1704, from Fr. caisson "ammunition wagon, box, crate," from M.Fr. caisson "large box" (16c.), from It. cassone, augmentive form of cassa "a chest," from L. capsa "a box" (see case (2)).
prairie: tract of level or undulating grassland in N.Amer., 1773, from Fr. prairie, from O.Fr. praerie (12c.), from V.L. *prataria, from L. pratum "meadow," originally "a hollow." The word existed in M.E. as prayere, but was lost and reborrowed to describe the American plains. Prairie dog is attested from 1774; prairie schooner "immigrant's wagon" is from 1841.
juggernaut: 1638, "huge wagon bearing an image of the god Krishna," especially that at the town of Puri, drawn annually in procession in which (apocryphally) devotees allowed themselves to be crushed under its wheels in sacrifice. Altered from Jaggernaut, a title of Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu), from Hindi Jagannath, lit. "lord of the world," from Skt. jagat "world" + natha-s "lord, master." The first European description of the festival is by Friar Odoric (c.1321). Fig. sense of "anything that demands blind devotion or merciless sacrifice" is from 1854.
carpenter: early 14c. (attested from 1121 as a surname), from O.N.Fr. carpentier (O.Fr. charpentier), from L.L. (artifex) carpentarius "wagon (maker)," from L. carpentum "two-wheeled carriage, cart," from Gaul., from O.Celt. *carpentom (cf. O.Ir. carpat, Gael. carbad "carriage"), probably related to Gaul. karros (see car). Replaced O.E. treowwyrhta. First record of carpenter bee is from 1844.
trek: 1849 (n.); 1850 (v.), "to travel or migrate by ox wagon," from Afrikaans trek, from Du. trekken "to march, journey," originally "to draw, pull," from M.Du. trecken (cf. M.L.G. trecken, O.H.G. trechan "to draw"). Especially in reference to the Groot Trek (1835 and after) of more than 10,000 Boers, who, discontent with the English colonial authorities, left Cape Colony and went north and north-east. Slang Trekkie "fan of the TV series 'Star Trek' " first recorded 1976.
current (adj.): c.1300, from O.Fr. corant "running," prp. of corre "to run," from L. currere "to run," from PIE *kers- "to run" (cf. Gk. -khouros "running," Lith. karsiu "go quickly," O.N. horskr "swift," O.Ir., M.Welsh carr "cart, wagon," Bret. karr "chariot," Welsh carrog "torrent"). The noun is c.1380, from M.Fr. corant, from O.Fr. corant. Applied 1747 to the flow of electrical force. Currently "at the present time" is 1580.
vogue: 1571, the vogue, "leading place in popularity, greatest success or acceptance," from M.Fr. vogue "fashion, success, drift, swaying motion (of a boat)" lit. "a rowing," from O.Fr. voguer "to row, sway, set sail," probably from O.Low Ger. *wogon, variant of wagon "float, fluctuate," lit. "to balance oneself" (see weigh). Apparently the notion is of being "borne along on the waves of fashion." It. vogare also probably is borrowed from Gmc. Phrase in vogue "having a prominent place in popular fashion" first recorded 1643. The fashion magazine began publication in 1892.
axis: 1540s, "imaginary straight line around which a body (such as the Earth) rotates," from L. axis "axle, pivot, axis of the earth or sky," from PIE *aks- "axis" (cf. O.E. eax, O.H.G. ahsa "axle;" Gk. axon "axis, axle, wagon;" Skt. aksah "an axle, axis, beam of a balance;" Lith. aszis "axle"). Fig. sense in world history of "alliance between Germany and Italy" (later extended to include Japan) is from 1936. Original reference was to a "Rome-Berlin axis" in central Europe. The word later was used in ref. to a London-Washington axis (World War II) and a Moscow-Peking axis (early Cold War).
welcome: O.E. wilcuma, exclamation of kindly greeting, from earlier wilcuma (n.) "welcome guest," lit. "one whose coming is in accord with another's will," from willa "pleasure, desire, choice" (see will (v.)) + cuma "guest," related to cuman (see come). Cf. O.H.G. willicomo, M.Du. wellecome. Meaning "entertainment or public reception as a greeting" is recorded from 1530. You're welcome as a formulaic response to thank you is attested from 1907. Welcome mat first recorded 1951; welcome wagon is attested from 1961. The verb is O.E. wilcumian.
Arcturus: late 14c., bright star in the constellation Bootes (also used of the whole constellation), anciently associated with the Bear, and its name is Gk. for "guardian of the bear." See Arctic; second element is from ouros "watcher, guardian, ward." Arcturus in the Bible is a mistranslation by Jerome of Heb. Ayish, which actually refers to the "bowl" of the Big Dipper. In Israel and Arabia, the seven stars of the Great Bear seem to have been a bier (the "bowl") followed by three mourners. The double nature of the great bear/wagon (see Big Dipper) has given two different names to the following constellation: Arktouros "bear-ward" (and bootes "the wagoner."
cycle: late 14c., from L.L. cyclus, from Gk. kyklos "circle, wheel," from PIE *kwel-, *kwol- "to roll, to move around, wheel" (cf. Skt. cakram "circle, wheel," carati "he moves, wanders;" Avestan caraiti "applies himself," c'axra "chariot, wagon;" Gk. polos "a round axis" (PIE *kw- becomes Gk. p- before some vowels), polein "move around;" L. colere "to frequent, dwell in, to cultivate, move around," cultus "tended, cultivated," hence also "polished," colonus "husbandman, tenant farmer, settler, colonist;" Lith. kelias "a road, a way;" O.N. hvel, O.E. hweol "wheel;" O.Rus., Pol. kolo, Rus. koleso "a wheel"). The verb meaning "to ride a bicycle" is from 1883.
pitch (v.): c.1200, "to thrust in, fasten, settle," probably from an unrecorded O.E. *piccean, related to the root of the verb prick. The original past tense was pight. Sense in pitch a tent (late 13c.) is from notion of "driving in" the pegs; meaning "throw a ball" evolved late 14c. from that of "hit the mark." Noun meaning "act of throwing" is recorded from 1833. The noun meaning "act of plunging headfirst" is from 1762; sense of "slope, degree, inclination" is from 1540s; musical sense is from 1590s; but the connection of these is obscure. Sales pitch is attested from 1876, probably extended from meaning "stall pitched as a sales booth" (1811). Pitch-pipe is attested from 1711. Pitcher "one who pitches" is recorded from 1722, originally hay into a wagon, etc.; baseball sense first recorded 1845.
station: c.1280, "place which one normally occupies," from O.Fr. station, from L. stationem (nom. statio) "a standing, post, job, position," related to stare "to stand," from PIE base *sta- "to stand" (see stet). The meaning "place for a special purpose" (e.g. polling station) is first recorded 1823; radio station is from 1912. The meaning "regular stopping place" is first recorded 1797, in reference to coach routes; applied to railroads 1830. Meaning "each of a number of holy places visited in succession by pilgrims" is from c.1380, hence Station of the Cross (1553). The verb meaning "to assign a post or position to" is attested from 1748. Station wagon in the automobile sense is first recorded 1929, from earlier use for a horse-drawn conveyance that took passengers to and from railroad stations (1894). Station house "police station" is attested from 1836.
meat: O.E. mete "food, item of food" (contrasted with drink), from P.Gmc. *matiz (cf. O.Fris. mete, O.N. matr, Goth. mats "food," M.Du., Du. metworst, Ger. Mettwurst "type of sausage"), from PIE *mat-/*met- "measure" (see meter (2)). Narrower sense of "flesh used as food" is first attested c.1300; similar sense evolution in Fr. viande "meat," originally "food." Figurative sense of "essential part" is from 1901. Dark meat, white meat supposedly popularized by Victorians as euphemisms for leg and breast. First record of meat loaf is from 1932. Meathead "stupid person" is from 1945; meat market "place where one looks for sex partners" is from 1896 (meat in various sexual senses of "penis, vagina, body regarded as a sex object, prostitute" are attested from 1595); meat wagon "ambulance" is from 1925, Amer.Eng. slang. Meaty "full of substance" is from 1881.